Digital media packets are transmitted and received by media devices within a media network. Known isochronous media networks exist that are able to transmit these media packets with tight timing requirements to enable synchronised play out of the multiple media channels on multiple media devices.
These networks enable the transmission of media packets within networks sharing the same IP subnet or Ethernet broadcast domain for non-IP networks. That is, within networks sharing the same IP subnet or Ethernet broadcast domain known methods exist to allow synchronisation of clocks of the media devices, and methods to send and receive digital media packets
Typically, isochronous media networks are optimized for local communication, either in a single LAN or a small number of LANs in which all devices can be directly reached by multicast or broadcast transmission. The local nature of the network often allows low latency signal transmission to be achieved. Senders and receivers in the network regulate the transmission of media signals using a synchronization signal communicated from a master device to all devices in the network. The local nature of the network makes reaching all devices in the network with multicast or broadcast transmission feasible. However, the methods used to distribute the synchronization signal prevent the isochronous media network from scaling beyond a small number of LANs. The local nature of these isochronous media networking technologies makes it difficult to build unified media networks larger in scale than a few hundred devices on a single LAN. With existing systems it is difficult to deploy media networks in many environments which typically employ numerous LANs connected by a routed internetwork (enterprise networks, campus networks, wide area networks).
Accordingly, what is needed are devices, methods, systems and/or computer-readable media for use in a larger unified, or substantially unified, isochronous network created from aggregating local isochronous media networks in which media devices connected to a network employ one or more synchronization signals distributed from local master clocks to regulate or facilitate the transmission of media signals. Also what is needed are devices, methods, systems and/or computer-readable media for sending and receiving digital media packets in a larger unified, or substantially unified, isochronous media network created from aggregating local isochronous media networks into larger unified, or substantially unified, isochronous media networks.